Cheerleading Media Changes

ONCE upon a time, before “the convergence” — of computer power with telecommunications and media — companies generally knew where their market stopped and someone else’s began.

But the flood of technology has effectively washed away those boundaries.

Today, I watch “Lost” on my laptop and “Veronica Mars” on my iPod, not on the TV for which they were first intended. I can browse the Web on TV or on a game console, instead of on my computer. I can Skype my friend in Sweden from my computer, and never touch my phone. Instead, I use it to listen to music, take pictures and read e-mail during meetings. And almost every day, there is new stuff vying for what is left of my attention — new media, new devices, new functions on old devices — that might inspire me to abandon whatever I was watching or using, yesterday.

As a result, running a media or entertainment company in the 21st century is not for the faint of heart. […]